MovieChat Forums > The Jayhawkers! (1959) Discussion > Underrated

Underrated

posted 18 years ago by MisterMickey
10 replies | jump to latest

This is a sadly underrated film. Jeff Chandler is superb as Darcy, the man who wants it all, and yet comes to care for the person who's attempting to bring him down. Fess Parker is quite good as Bleeker, the man with torn loyalties. He knows what Darcy needs to be stopped, but due to the fact he's become friends with him, he'd prefer not to be the one to do so. Toss in a Jerome Moross score that is every bit as good as the one he did for THE BIG COUNTRY, and you have a terrific western. This is one for fans of the genre, and if they want to see what terric acting is, just have them watch Chandler.

[–] HoferPM-1 17 years ago

I'm a huge Jeff Chandler fan and bought this movie a while ago. I haven't had the time to watch it yet because I keep watching the oldies on TCM which I love, but I will watch it very soon. Thanks for your opinion. I also loved The Big Country and loved the music so much I bought it. As Jean Simmons said in the movie, "it's a big country".

[–] plwblj 17 years ago

Saw this good oater back when it came out;terrific memories !

Solid,fun and pulse-pounding Track;

Like Parker,Chandler,Gordon,etc-nice....

-mby

[–] ScarletPimpernel64 16 years ago

I'm envoius of you, seeing this on the big screen.

"So what else is on your mind besides 100 proof women, 90 proof whiskey, and 14 karat gold?"

[–] Bob-45 13 years ago

Same here. I can't understand why it isn't better rated. Chandler's performance as Darcy stands alongside Glenn Ford's in "3:10 to Yuma" as the most complex villains in western movie history and both are Oscar-caliber. Watching it on Netflix Instant on a 47" TV and it looks pristine.

[–] ScarletPimpernel64 16 years ago

This film is so deserving of a DVD release. I wish Paramount would do this film justice or at least we'd see it on TCM so we could record it in widescreen.

"So what else is on your mind besides 100 proof women, 90 proof whiskey, and 14 karat gold?"

[–] wtl471629 16 years ago

I agree. It is a very good movie and just lacks something that keeps me from saying great. Chandler, Parker & Gordon were good together. It should be on tv more often.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] narnia4 13 years ago

Just got the dvd and watched it, I'd agree that this is a very solid movie. Acting of Chandler and Parker is solid, although its a little weaker from some of the secondary characters. Some pretty good action in there. Story works if you don't mind a lot of liberties with the history of it, and generally speaking I don't mind that (those who get their history from movies probably wouldn't have known about the historical events at all were it not for movies).

I'd say the most interesting thing was the character studies and motivation, I've always been a sucker for that stuff in films. The complex character of Ethan Edwards alone made The Searchers one of my favorite movies, for example (would have been interesting if Parker HAD gotten the role that went to Jeffrey Hunter there). On the first viewing I wasn't quite sure whether all the psychological factors were complex and worked or whether it was just muddled. If you are charitable and infer a few things, you can easily go with the former, which makes it a pretty interesting flick.

[–] Jayhawk777 9 years ago

Very much so. Jeff Chandler was cool as the other side of the pillow.

[–] mdonln 9 years ago

I did not like this movie at all. I thought it was a terrible script; the story was bad; and none of it made sense. It looked like something hastily thrown together by someone who was trying too hard but didn't know what they were doing.

That said I think the actors did the best they could with the material they were given. I didn't like it but I'm glad some of the people who watched the movie found some enjoyment. I noticed it was bad early on but stuck with it hoping I'd feel differently by the time it ended. Sadly, that did not happen. In fact, the end of the movie made me dislike it that much more. It's always sad to invest time into something that you don't feel was worth the time.

Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]